The Shepherd Diaries
by ChiefArmourer
Summary: Not only FNG's keep FNJ's. A look into the thoughts of General Shepherd and the development of his grand plan, in his own words.


The Shepherd Diaries

Summary: Not only FNG's keep FNJ's. A look into the thoughts of General Shepherd and the development of his grand plan, in his own words.

Disclaimer: If it's from the game, I don't own it.

Note: Came up with this as a bit of a play on the memo pad on my new phone, helped me figure out that it was rubbish, so I downloaded an App. I was trying to write it in the style of a court document, evidence against Shepherd for his part in World War Three.

* * *

Picture the scene, just after the rescue of the Russian President, because they would have had time to chat in the helicopter, and I'm sure he would push to have his rescuers case reviewed. Price in a courtroom, maybe backed up by MacMillan and Frost; trying to get the 141 cleared of Shepherd's lies and get justice for their families, and Price off the US hit list

* * *

_The following extracts were taken from the diary of General Shepherd. Presented as evidence for consideration in the exoneration of Captain John Price, and posthumous exoneration of other member of Task Force 141, incl:_

_Captain John 'Soap' MacTavish, Lieutenant Simon 'Ghost' Riley and Sargent Gary 'Roach' Sanderson._

[Entry 1]

_No Date recorded, suspected to have been written some time in 2012/2013._

PRICE.

I'd hoped he'd have been retired by now, out of the business and far from fit for duty. But no, the 'Old Man' is still itching for a fight, and he's still well and truly fit for duty, even out performs the younger, and supposedly fitter men that I personally selected for this Task Force. His reputation among the Special Forces community is well won, he's a worthy commander for the 141, inspires a damn lot of loyalty from the men under his command, especially from MacTavish, the Scot is like a damn puppy dog on his heels, they were only on one mission together, he had quite an effect on the young man.

I don't like him.

Price is a good soldier, hell, probably the best there is, five years ago I would have gone begging to MacMillan on my hands and knees to have him on any task force of mine. I've seen his record, even the redacted parts, and there was a hell of a lot of black ink used on that file. He's an extraordinary soldier, and quite the commander, he's taken men into some pretty nasty places and come out again in one piece, although not necessarily the man with him, his psychological profile suggests he suffers from serious survivor's guilt. He and MacTavish were the only survivors of the SAS/USMC task force that went into Russia to stop Zachaev and those missiles, I have to admit I didn't think they'd succeed or any of them would come back alive, he's damn good.

But Price is a bloody maverick, he has a mind of his own, he'll disregard orders, and has, particularly if he thinks they put his people in unnecessary danger, he's also bloody principled. If he were a damn idiot I could pull the wool over his eyes, but Price is intelligent, he could have gone to Oxford or Cambridge; and perceptive, don't play him at poker, Macmillan warned me about that. I can't trust him to remain oblivious, nor would he agree with my plans, no, Price has to go.

The question is how? Price holds quite a sway over MacTavish, even if I could get the Old Man off the task force and into retirement where he probably belongs, he wouldn't be out of the picture. I'm sure MacTavish would go running off to Price whenever he needed some advice or a pep talk, and telling him every little detail of our missions and intelligence we've gathered no matter how classified I declared it. I can't risk that; Price would be the commander in all but name and rank and he would undoubtedly figure it out before I could reach a point when he could do nothing to stop it. No, I have to get Price out of the way, permanently and definitively.

[Entry 2]

_No Date recorded, suspected to have been written some time before October 18__th__, 2013._

How to get rid of Price?

I find it an in interesting question; there are quite a few ways to get rid of a man in this day and age, history has taught us many things. Arrange for a convenient and fatal 'accident', driving on the way to work kills a lot of people, and that Land Rover of his is very old. Perhaps a mishap while training, sky diving can be a very dangerous activity, military or recreational. I could pay someone to see that the Captain doesn't return from the next mission, there are a lot of skilled ex-soldiers out there, some from less than reputable armies; or maybe send him somewhere where he's very unlikely to come back from anyway, it's a very dangerous world out there, there must be missions that even the great John Price cannot survive.

I have to be certain that he is gone for good, Price cannot come back with any suspicions, and I cannot risk any investigations that might result in any interruptions to my plan. No, there has to be a way to ensure he never troubles me again.

This is perhaps a harder task than dealing with Makarov.

Makarov, now there is an alternative I hadn't considered. Makarov hates, hell, detests Price, it's well known they're each other's mortal enemy, he has a price out on the Captain's head; I don't know first-hand, but I've heard the stories, Price has had to deal with mercenaries and bounty hunters from all over the world, he sent them running, figuratively, most of them couldn't run when he'd finished with them, couldn't even crawl, and probably made anyone else out there think twice, which rules out hiring anyone, it would be trouble enough finding anyone with the guts, and the skill to manage it, and of course no sense of self-preservation. Makarov would be more than happy to deal with Price, and I may earn some favour from him in the process. Yes, if I can play Makarov right I can deal with Price and accelerate my plans a great deal. Makarov, with the right pushing and prompting, could start the war, I can think of no way to force a US invasion of Russia, but perhaps there is a way to prompt a Russian invasion of the US, if that happened we would have legitimate cause to retaliate, yes, that might indeed work.

I wonder how to get in contact with him?

[Entry 3]

_No date recorded, likely written on 8__th__ October, 2013, or shortly after._

It is done.

I know it sounds like something from a corny B movie, but it fits the situation. Price is dead, the 141's mission in the Ukraine was a complete failure, but my mission was a success in every way. There will of course be an inquiry, it's natural in a death like this, and suspicions, no doubt from a morning MacTavish; I spoke to him earlier, he was extremely distressed and still recovering from his injuries, he's angry about the orders I sent to the pilot to leave without the Captain, I may get a few harsh words for that action, but I'm sure I can talk myself out of a disciplinary hearing, one life for many and all that crap. Now I have MacTavish in my pocket, losing Price has put him terribly off balance, he's good, but he's still relatively new to the Special Forces world, promoted a little too early maybe, he'll be easy to manipulate to my needs now. I do wonder about Price's fate, he was a good officer and soldier, hell of a good man, I shared drinks with MacMillan while he was also present once, the pair were like family, they shared a father and son bond; Macmillan took Price on when he joined the SAS at a relatively young age, Macmillan took an angry, disheartened and down trodden young man, who just happened to be very skilled, and turned him into the only man who could possibly ruin my plan. Now I have left a Father without a body to bury, like all those families who lost children to Al-Asad's, or rather Makarov's, bomb, but this death has at least a good cause, there will be no more deaths like that at the hands of me like that. Price was an interesting individual, I will not deny that, in another time and place we could have been good friends, but in this time and place he had to be dealt with, permanently, or risk everything I have planned. Now Makarov owes me, I gave him the man he wanted more than anybody else, this favour I can definitely use.

[Entry 4]

_No date recorded, __suspected to be written sometime between 14__th__–16__th__ August 2016_

That damn idiot!

I expected him to kill Price, not lock him up in his personal little Gulag. Makarov wanted Price dead; everyone knew that, I never should have left this situation in the hands of some damn terrorists. I should have dealt with him myself, and been sure of the end result. Now I have Price to deal with again, and I'm at a critical stage in my plan, nothing is certain yet; he could screw everything up very easily, I have to keep him under control and out of the way, if that's even possible, the meddler that Price is, whether it's his intention or not. He's not fit for duty, I don't have to see him to figure that out for myself, and I know what goes on in places like that, at the hands of men like Makarov. But a medical report comprised of observations and guess work won't do, and Price is certainly not letting the medics or the shrinks anywhere near him, despite MacTavish's and Riley's insistence. He must have been through hell for the last three years, Gulags aren't summer camps, and Makarov certainly hasn't spent the last few years having tea with the British Captain, confinement in the cold and dark, trapped under the control of an insane man. That Russian is mad, it was a mistake to put any trust in him, one I will not make again.

Price must really hate the bastard now for what he's done, three years of his like stolen, forced to live it out in that hell hole, coming out to find the world in ruin, still fighting the war he thought he'd lost his men, and friends, to deal with, maybe I can use that hate, surely Price would jump at the opportunity to go after Makarov, and that would certainly keep him off my back.

I may also have to accelerate my timetable, Shadow Company are ready at site Hotel Bravo, very soon, Makarov and Price, along with the rest of his precious little 141 we be dealt with, PERMANENTLY.

_There are no further entries written._

* * *

So there's my take on what was going on in Shepherd's head and how the 141 was cleared.

Reviews and helpful criticism are welcome, I think I got all the spelling mistakes.


End file.
